Blue, Blue, Blue Christmas
by StarscreamII
Summary: Megatron has shown a rare streak of generosity and allowed his employees a week-long break to enjoy the holidays. Soundwave decides to visit his sister and twin nephews, like he usually does. He's not asking for much for Christmas, but when his lover from college shows up on his doorstep, he gets a lot more than he was expecting... Set in Demyrie's Odd Moments humanized TFA AU.
1. I'll Be Home

**A/N: **Alright. So I said this would be posted for Christmas. It…obviously wasn't. But before I managed to make myself more depressed about my lack of writing than I already was, I just decided "why the heck not" and went ahead and tossed it up here anyway. You can all imagine that it's the holidays again, yeah? Good.

So, this is another little thing set in **Demyrie's** Odd Moments humanized TFA universe that I fell in love with a year or so ago and have not let go of since. It's (three guesses and the first two don't count) Soundwave again, but instead of being in college like he was in **Tag Team**, he's all grown up and is an official Decepticon, sworn to the gray-haired, gray-eyed terror that is the CEO of D-Con Industries. This is less about his business life and more about his personal life, with family and an appearance from an unexpected surprise… It will have multiple chapters (each one will be a single day of Soundwave's vacation), and I promise things get more interesting once the aforementioned surprise shows up.

Many thanks to all of you who favorited/reviewed **Tag Team** (**Stargazer at Moonlight, Farky-Fark and the Munky Bunch **(my sister)**, SpiritSouls, Dragon of Diamonds, Dragonjg, Lunarady, scratch-mcb, Kappa Taicho, Crimson-Eyes26, **and **Skyress98.**)

Additional thanks to those of you who added me to your author faves and/or alert: **Stargazer at Moonlight, lord natahan, **and **thebookfan09**.

I owe my growth and success as a writer to all of you.

And, for those of you that are interested, this is in a slightly different AU than the one I used for **Tag Team.** In short, a friend (**crusades**) and I did an RP, and the way he and Vibes met in college was different (and much cuter) than what happened in **Tag Team.** This is the AU I will be using for either **a)** a longer story about Soundwave, or **b)** a series of shorter things that can be pieced together to form the same story told in option (a). Like a mosaic. Yeah.

In either case, I hope you enjoy this little drabble about the sweet, quiet, communications officer and his crazy nephews. **Read, review, and spread the love, my friends!**

* * *

"Now, please boys, don't smother him when he comes in—"

"BOSS!"

"Hey, Boss, we missed you!"

The twins didn't even give Soundwave a chance to open the door by himself before they burst out and swarmed him. Yes, in the case of Frenzy and Rumble, two was a swarm. Ravage, who had been weaving through her owner's legs, meowing to be let in from the cold, tore into the house with a startled yowl.

"Boys!" Karmen barked, hands snapping to her hips. "Let him get _in _the house first."

Immediately adopting an air of dignity, the two straightened and each picked up a suitcase (though "struggled with" would be more accurate), carrying them into the house and putting them down in the middle of the living room floor, before barreling back out and clinging to Soundwave, bouncing up and down, asking him question after question, completely ignoring the black cat on the back of the couch.

Karmen scolded them loudly, to no avail, but Soundwave just trudged into the apartment and patiently motioned for them to '_calm down and wait_.' Not surprisingly, they did just that. Soundwave wrapped his sister in a bear hug, lifting her off the ground, making the boys giggle and poke at her bare feet while she was defenseless. Though as soon as she was released, she swatted both of them with her current weapon—the feather duster—making them laugh and scramble for cover behind their uncle.

Karmen smiled wearily at him. "This is what I've had to deal with for the past week…ever since you said you'd be coming over." When Soundwave just shrugged and offered a semi-sympathetic half-smile, she sighed. "Frenzy, Rumble; why don't you help your uncle get his things back to the hall closet."

Eagerly, they raced for the suitcases again, and dragged them down the hallway to the small closet that held mostly cleaning supplies, and Soundwave's belongings when he stayed over for a prolonged period of time.

"So how long are you staying?"

Laughing silently except for quiet huffs of air as he exhaled, Soundwave answered. '_Through New Years._'

"So…aww…only a week?"

He nodded, straightening the suitcases against the wall so they'd be out of the way. After mentally running through his packing list and making sure he hadn't left anything in his car, he closed the closet door and made his way back out into the living room, sitting down on the couch and running his fingers through his dark blue hair. Frenzy and Rumble scrambled up on either side of him, bouncing excitedly on their knees, practically bursting with unasked questions.

"Give him some space, you two…" Karmen warned from the kitchen, out of sight; almost as if she could read her sons' thoughts.

To negate her comment, Soundwave took them each under one arm and pulled them closer, tousling their hair.

"We have so many things we have to do!"

"Yeah. You sure you can't stay longer?"

He nodded with a sigh. Megatron was being generous enough to give everyone a week. Though, if the rumors floating around D-Con were anything to go by, it was mostly because Starscream had…caught the President's eye—and possibly some other less-mentionable parts of his anatomy—and Megatron wanted to give himself time to…get to know the young Seeker. The thought disgusted Soundwave to the point of nausea, but it wasn't any of his business. Unless, of course, it started interfering with _the _business.

"So has anything super-awesome happened lately?"

'_No. Usual. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep._'

"Nothing?" Rumble sighed, thinking. "What about a girlfriend?"

"Ooh, yeah! Do you have a girlfriend? Cause that'd be exciting, right?" Frenzy gave him a toothy grin and nudged him in the ribs with an elbow.

Soundwave blushed. Too aware. Much too aware.

"Ma, he's blushing! That means yes! He's got a girlfriend!"

"Boys, apparently you haven't noticed, but he's always blushing."

Soundwave protested, face indignant, even though his sister couldn't see him signing.

"He says he's not," Frenzy relayed.

He shoved Rumble playfully and signed 'girlfriend' and 'why?'

"Because mom wants you to find one."

Shocked, Soundwave stood and walked the few steps into the kitchen, patting the wall to get Karmen's attention. Once she turned around, he again signed 'girlfriend,' looking at her with one eyebrow raised.

Karmen sighed. "I never said I wanted you to find one. I said I hoped you would be able to find someone to settle down with and—"

'_Happy with you three. Don't need someone else._'

The twins, watching the exchange attentively, let out a chorus of "Aww…"s and "But Boss…"s, obviously disappointed in their uncle's lack of interest in women.

"And I appreciate that, Soundwave, I really do. But you can't spend all your time away from us being kept company by computers and cats. That's no way to live…"

'_I can care for myself_,' he insisted. '_I know how to—_'

"That's not really the point. You're twenty-eight, you _should _be self-sufficient, I just…" She looked around him at the twins, sighed, then patted his arm. "We'll finish this later. Go play with your nephews."

Frenzy made a noise of disdain. "Ma, we're twelve. We don't _play_ anymore."

Soundwave and Karmen shared an eye-roll before he turned back toward the living room.

"Where'd the cat go, Boss?"

'_Away from you two._'

The boys glanced at each other, grinning, and shot off down the hallway in search of their uncle's furry charge.

Soundwave sighed and snapped a few times, watching the slim black feline slink out from behind the TV cabinet, trilling quietly and waving her tail. He reached down and picked her up, setting her on his shoulder, where she purred loudly in his ear.

Behind him, Karmen chuckled. "She's getting good at avoiding them."

He nodded and sat down at the kitchen table, letting Ravage hop off his shoulder and flop onto her side to begin grooming.

'_Bradbury's teaching her_.'

Karmen pursed her lips thoughtfully at the mention of the gray cat who had more or less claimed Ravage as a mate. "I haven't seen him lately."

Soundwave shrugged. '_Cold out. Doesn't want to wander around the city._'

"Maybe."

'_You're not worried_?'

"No, I just…well, maybe a little. In contrast with the boys, those cats are downright angelic."

Soundwave laughed silently and petted Ravage's newly-cleaned back, earning a narrowed glare. He glared back and she eventually gave up and rested her head on her paws.

"…no, she wasn't in there."

"Well, then I don't—hey! He had her the whole time!"

Quick footsteps made the black cat tense, amber eyes wide, tail flicking back and forth. Soundwave pulled her closer and watched the twins approach.

"Where was she?"

'_Hiding. With good reason._'

"We weren't gonna—"

Soundwave's unconvinced expression was enough to stop Rumble from finishing his excuse.

"Oh, boys, do you want to help Soundwave put up the lights?"

They exchanged a glance, then looked up at their uncle, who was giving a barely perceptible yet very severe nod.

"Sure."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Wonderful…Soundwave, you know where the lights are." Karmen nodded at him firmly, and he knew his sister's body language well enough to understand her plea for him to get the twins out of her hair for a few hours. Standing, he herded the boys out of the kitchen and toward the door that would take them to the garage.

"So…" Rumble waited until he was out of his mother's earshot to complain. "Do we really have to help you with the lights?"

Soundwave shook his head. '_But you still need your coats_.'

They scampered off to their room to retrieve said coats and Soundwave went down the few stairs to the door to the garage, opening it and walking out into the chilly air. His breath made little puffs of steam that fogged up his visor. Lights…lights…In the cabinet to the right of the furnace.

He opened the door and pulled out a few boxes of basic white string lights. His sister believed in keeping things in their original packaging. Well, most things. Everything that could feasibly be kept in the box it was bought in…stayed in the box it was bought in.

The door to the garage opened and Frenzy and Rumble spilled out, bundled in their thick coats.

"…I hate wearing coats…" Rumble muttered, ruffling his moodily.

'_You need them, or you'd turn into a skinny purple icicle,_' Soundwave smirked, opening the garage door and picking up the boxes of lights again.

Frenzy snickered, trying to hide it behind his hand. Unfortunately, Rumble noticed and punched him on the shoulder. And of course, Frenzy had to punch back. By the time they made it outside, they were full-out wrestling, flinging snow up in the air, shouting and snarling and insulting.

Soundwave watched them for a moment, half-wondering if, half-hoping that they'd roll into the tree in the middle of the small yard. They didn't, however; stopping a few feet away, suddenly distracted by something in the snow, instantly forgetting their squabble.

A neighbor honked as he drove past and Soundwave gave him a friendly wave. Most people in the apartment complex knew him, or at least knew of him, since Karmen was fairly popular and it was impossible to not notice the twins. Some were nice, others treated him like a freak; but thankfully, during the holidays, most of them could get over their discomfort and treat him like a fellow human being. A few even ended up liking him once they got to know him and realized that expressions and sign language had just as much meaning as speech; and that scars just meant he was a regular guy with a past that stayed to haunt him.

He turned away from his nephews with a small sigh and carried the boxes of lights to the front porch before returning to the garage to get the clips.

"Hey, Soundwave?"

He stopped dead in his tracks, all too used to it being Shockwave or Megatron to call his name.

Their neighbor trotted over with a smile and a package in his gloved hands. "Would you mind giving this to your sister?"

Soundwave nodded and took the package offered. It was smallish and rectangular, wrapped in simple brown paper with a small bow and a handwritten tag. He tucked it under his arm so he could sign. '_It's not a bomb, is it?_' he tried to make his expression as teasing as possible, but couldn't help being slightly paranoid. His excessive and…heavy…work the past few weeks had left him a bit on edge, if nothing else. For all he knew—no. That was insane.

The other man laughed and shook his head. "You care about her something fierce."

He shouldn't have been suspicious. He'd known this guy for a long time. He taught Sign Language at one of the local high schools. He was nice. He was divorced with two kids. There was nothing he could possibly do to hurt anyone. But Soundwave's horribly overtaxed instincts said differently. '_We're family. We look out for each other._'

"I get it. It's great, actually. Close families are…hard to find anymore, sadly enough. I know yours has its issues, but…don't we all, you know?"

With another nod, Soundwave readjusted the package, subtly trying to feel for the telltale signs of a bomb.

"Well, just make sure she gets it, alright? My daughter's real proud of it."

That sentence should have shattered the tension mounting in Soundwave's mind, but it only heightened it. Logic said that a fifteen-year-old girl did not build bombs. Nerves and paranoia said that the guy was just adding another layer to the deception to make Soundwave lower his guard and—good God, he needed a new job.

"Well, see you later, hopefully. And merry Christmas!" He waved and headed back toward his front door, grinning when Soundwave signed '_Same_.'

Soundwave stood there for a moment after the front door had shut, then sighed and shook his head, carrying the package into the garage and setting it down—carefully—on a shelf out of his sister's height range.

"What's that?"

The surprisingly loud voice from beside him made him jump, then immediately blush. '_Something for your mom_,' he answered, walking around the twins to retrieve the light clips.

"What's in it?"

'_Don't know_.' He picked up the clips and walked back out to the porch, hearing the little feet behind him.

"Why don't you go put it inside?"

'_Later._'

That must have been enough of a dismissal for the two to share a shrug, then scamper back out into the snow, leaving Soundwave to himself, for the most part. Biting his lip, he set the box of clips down next to him and opened the ladder. Why couldn't every day of his life be this mundane? He would much rather be stuck with his nephews for the rest of his life than have to relay execution orders and worry about bombs.

* * *

"Here, you deserve this." Karmen shoved a huge mug of coffee into her brother's hands. "Those lights look wonderful. Thank you."

He shrugged.

Karmen sighed. "You know, it's okay to accept a compliment every once in a while. It won't kill you."

In his line of work it probably could. He just decided to humor her with a safe, reluctant '_I know_' and gulped down half the coffee, not even caring that it scalded his throat on the way down; it was destroyed already, so what harm could a few more burns do?

"You okay?"

He looked up at his sister, wishing he didn't have to lie. '_Yeah. Fine. Tired._'

"Well, the coffee should help with that." She smiled, but didn't look entirely convinced. "If there's anything else I can do, let me know. You've done so much for me, and it's only fair…"

He silenced her by putting his coffee down and pulling her into a brief hug. '_You do more than you realize,_' he replied once he'd let her go.

Karmen sighed and fussed with her hair. "Thank you, I just…sometimes I feel like I ask too much."

Soundwave frowned, shaking his head. '_Just being able to come over here is enough for me. Honest._'

His sister subtly wiped at her eye, smiling softly. "Then I guess we're even."

Any further reply was interrupted when the twins came skidding into the kitchen, hot on the heels of a frantic and wide-eyed cat. Soundwave muttered a silent curse and stepped between the conflicting parties, allowing Ravage to jump to safety on top of a low cabinet.

"Boss, we're bored…"

"Then couldn't you have found something to do besides terrorize your uncle's cat, boys?" Karmen chastised gently.

They looked at each other and shrugged. "Why can't we get a dog, ma?"

"A dog?" Rumble scoffed. "Dude, I want a hawk! No—no, an _eagle_!"

"What would you do with a bird?" Frenzy retorted. "They're boring."

"Not when I could command it to eat your face in your sleep!"

"Alright, you two. That's enough. Go get the games out of your closet and we'll play one of those."

Soundwave shot a playful look at his nephews. '_Guitar Hero competition?_'

"Yeah!"

"Ooh, yeah, but we get to pick your songs."

'_Fair enough._'

Karmen rolled her eyes, but silently thanked her brother as he left the kitchen to turn on the console, with the twins right behind him.

* * *

"Okay, you three crazy rock-stars out there, come eat!"

Karmen's call from the kitchen made the twins instantly drop whatever they happened to be holding and rush to the table, leaving their uncle to shut off the console and store the props. Not that he minded too much. He joined them a moment later, flicking a paper football at Frenzy across the table, ignoring his sister's disapproving tongue-click.

"Boss?" Rumble piped, looking pensive. "Did you bring your real guitar?"

Soundwave nodded, catching the football returned to him and tossing it onto the counter as Karmen brought over the pan from the stove. '_Why?_'

"I wanna learn how to play it."

'_Okay. After dinner?_'

"These two need to get to bed after this," Karmen interjected, sitting at the other end of the table. "We have a full day of Christmas decorating tomorrow."

The boys "awww'd" in chorus, but didn't argue with their mother. Soundwave just shrugged and signed a quick '_Later_,' reassuring them with a soft, lopsided smile.

Dinner passed in relative peace—the twins filled their uncle in on just about everything that had happened at school in the few days before it let out for the holidays, and Karmen made corrections when needed. Most of the information was trivial, but hearing it gave Soundwave a sense of fulfillment that no paycheck would ever be able to. Being able to spend time with his family made him almost forget what he did at work. It made him feel human. At work, he was just a machine. An efficient, moving piece of an illegal operation that he wished would be a dream when he woke up the next morning. Here, he was safe.

* * *

**A/N: **Alright. There it is. It's not perfect, by any means, but it's a start. The chapters after this will get a) longer, b) better, and c) much more interesting, I promise. I've already got a good chunk of the next one, so I'd say it'll be ready to go in a week or so, based on my work schedule.

Hope you like it so far! Remember to share any and all thoughts with me, I've been craving constructive criticism for a while now. As always, thank you all so much for reading! It feels good to be back in business and I'm thrilled that all of you are along for the ride!


	2. All I Want

**A/N: **Alright! Chapter 2! Things 'boutta get crazy up in here! Rekindled sexual tension that's been smoldering for six years always causes fun problems, no? I think so.

Many thanks to those of you who reviewed: **Echoraptor, zara, Madam Oz **and …**Bunch **(you know who you are…). Every word means so much to me, and it's the reason I keep coming back to this crazy stuff instead of doing my homework. Thank you. Really. Who needs math, anyway?

Further thanks to the fave-ers and followers: **FFatMBunch, ClearShadows117, **and **Greekmythologygirl2000.** Even silent support is appreciated support. But don't be afraid to leave a little note and tell me what you think. I don't bite.

Since I've gotten into the habit of giving a few songs as a sort of soundtrack, here are some for you to enjoy for this chapter:  
**"Please Forgive Me" David Gray  
"400 Lux" Lorde** (for the flashbacks)

Speaking of flashbacks, anything in italics (that isn't Soundwave signing) and present tense (WHAAAAT? I know, I know…) is a flashback.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Transformers, or the Odd Moments humanized AU. Those belong to Hasbro and Demyrie, respectively.

I think that's it for my (excessive) announcements. Onto the writing! **Read, review, and share, my friends! Cheers!**

* * *

The house was quiet when Soundwave woke up, hugging his pillow against his chest. He didn't open his eyes for a while, just laid there, listening to the soft blowing of the heater through the vents. Times like these haunted him. In the silence, waking nightmares ran rampant. All he could hear was Megatron's voice, relaying orders, still as steely as ever, cutting through layer after layer of disguising filter. He could hear the crunch of buckling metal as club walls came down around him; he could hear screams, and sometimes, almost smell the nauseating tang of electrical fire. Unconsciously, he touched his neck. It probably would have felt rough, foreign—if his hands weren't also burnt. Scars against scars. It was like numb sandpaper.

He swallowed and forced himself to hug the pillow tighter. The twins' comment about a girlfriend had affected him more than he'd ever let them know. No matter how bad things got, Soundwave had always fallen back on the only good memories he had. He'd never claimed to know anything about love, or women, for that matter, but those two years in college had been some of the best in his life. He'd had independence, time to explore—experiment with what he loved, get buried in the endless possibilities of technology—and he'd had her. The spunky little violinist never failed to cheer him up. It had been, what, six—no, seven—years since they'd graduated? God only knew where she was and what she was doing now. He'd never had the nerve to contact her after the first year or so. Even before the accident. He'd always felt this cloying sense of weakness. As if he was depending on her. Pushing aside the possibility of…love. After the accident, it was easier to justify. He blamed it on losing his voice, not being able to communicate. But he knew he was lying to himself. He didn't want her to see him like this. In case she wouldn't have loved him anymore. And after getting employed at D-Con? No, he couldn't stand the thought of exposing her to what he'd become. She'd had the purest, most lighthearted innocence of anyone he'd known—and he wouldn't allow himself to taint that.

* * *

_"You have a nice voice."_

_Blushing, he stops and bites his lip. "Thanks. I, uh…I was in choir in high school. It was fun. Never tried out for solos, though."_

_"Too shy?"_

_"Something like that."_

_"I bet you could do it."_

_He sighs. "I don't know. I've got…I'm terrible in front of a bunch of people if it's just me. In a group, I'd be fine, but…"_

_"Yeah, I get it. A lot of people are like that."_

_He looks over at her. "But not you?"_

_"I love performing."_

_He shakes his head and looks back down at his guitar. "You're crazy."_

_She grins. "Never denied it. Maybe…maybe I could show you some tricks for presentations and stuff?"_

_"If you want. I'll take 'em, if they're good."_

_"I think they are. Worked for another friend of mine."_

_"Another friend?" He glances back up and smiles a little. "So you consider me a friend, even though we just met?"_

_"I guess, I mean…we get along, and we both noticed each other out there today…it has to mean _something_, doesn't it?"_

_He shrugs. "Maybe."_

_An awkward hush settles for a moment before she asks, "So, what gave you that hair color?"_

_"Some sort of benign genetic mix-up, according to my doctor." He doesn't elaborate._

_"I like it."_

_"…thanks."_

_"No, really. It's…different. In a good way. Unique."_

_He just laughs quietly and blushes. "It's not something you see every day, that's for sure."_

_She shakes her head, biting her lip a little._

_"And I'm assuming yours is dyed?"_

_"Yeah, I'm actually blond."_

_Another silence falls._

_"So…you wouldn't mind if I stayed here tonight?" Suddenly, she's shy again. "I can use his bed…"_

_"…you…don't wanna do that. Trust me. I'm not just trying to get you into mine."_

_"Well, you know, considering I already am…"_

_"Right."_

_A few seconds of silence pass before she leans over and kisses him. She may have been aiming for his cheek, but…well, it's so surprising that he can't help but turn to look at her. He draws in a little gasp as their lips meet, but doesn't try to pull away, though he doesn't really try to kiss her back, either._

_He's barely had time to taste her before she pulls away and whispers, "You…you're not taken, are you?"_

_He swallows and shakes his head as she moves back in, this time more confidently._

* * *

"Boss…that's not fair. You can't sleep all day while we work…"

Soundwave absently swatted at the air in the general direction of his nephew's voice, silently mumbling against the pillow.

"You know—" now it was Karmen "—normally I'd be on your side, but they're right. We need the couch to hang some things."

Heaving a world-weary sigh, he swung his legs over the side of the pull-out couch, eyes still closed. Ravage trilled from beside him, no doubt woken by the disturbance. It wasn't until he heard and felt the cat jump down to the floor that he stood, stretched, and opened his eyes. Granted, it was more of a glare at the world in general, but they were open and he was awake. That's what mattered.

"We'll let you sleep tomorrow, won't we, boys?" Karmen pinned the twins with a look that didn't leave room for negotiation. "After all the decorations are done. Lord knows you probably need it."

He didn't bother to tell her how right she was. She may not have known exactly what he did, but she could tell when he was exhausted and needed a break from reality.

"I want it to be Christmas already," Rumble whined, clambering up onto the sofa, trailing a bough of garland.

"You'll just have to wait—hang it up on that hook there. Yes, that one. No, a little to the—Soundwave, will you help him even that out?"

Yawning, the young programmer shuffled through piles of bubble wrap to the other side of the kitchen doorframe, tugging at the garland until it was centered overhead. He mimed hammering against the wall and Rumble jumped off the couch to get some tacks.

"Be careful with those," Karmen warned.

Rumble rolled his eyes with a small scoff.

Karmen pursed her lips, but stayed silent and went back to unwrapping various ornaments.

"So are you really gonna sleep in tomorrow, Boss? I mean…it's Christmas Eve…tomorrow we have to get up early to open all the stuff, right?"

Soundwave put both his hands up and shot his nephew an arched look, making the redheaded twin pout a little. "It's just that we don't get to see you much anymore…"

Rumble waved his hand at his brother dismissively. "He can sleep through _anything_. If he misses all the fun, that's his fault."

Frenzy mumbled a half-hearted agreement, but still looked a little put-out. Unfortunately, the brats were his own blood, he cared about them, and Frenzy's expression made his heart drop into his stomach. He sighed and put down the hammer. '_I won't sleep late._'

Frenzy immediately grinned at Rumble, who cackled devilishly. "Works every time. You're such a softie, Boss."

Soundwave glared, though it wasn't sincere in the least, and hid his smile by leaning down to grab a few of the ornaments his sister had unwrapped. He hung the delicate red glass guitar safely out of range of most of the twins' antics, but the crocheted black cat could handle the abuse, so it went on the lower branches. There was something significant about every ornament his family owned. None of the frivolous glazed and glittered balls or crystal icicles. Sure, it didn't look very _professional_, but that hardly mattered. It had character. It had a story.

* * *

_Now lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, he idly plucks at the strings of his guitar with one hand, arm over the side of the bed, as the instrument lies in its open case on the floor. He rubs her shoulder with the other._

_Somewhere amidst the chaos of sweat and blushing and tongues and lips and teeth and nervous laughter and generally borderline sexual behavior, he'd lost his shirt, which is now lying a few feet away on the rug._

_She has her head resting on his shoulder and is trailing her fingers along his chest, sending shivers up his spine. "Not so awkward anymore, is it?" she asks quietly, shifting so she can look up at him._

_"No, I guess not…" He gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze._

_She smiles and stretches a little to plant a kiss on his jawline._

_"I still think this entire situation is crazy though," he adds a moment later._

_"Yeah, a little," she concedes with a sigh. "But not in a bad way. I mean, I don't think we're jumping into this too fast. Do you?"_

_He has to think about this for a moment. "…no. I just…this is all new to me, so I have no frame of reference. For any of it."_

_"You've never had a girlfriend?"_

_He shakes his head. "You're the first. If, I mean, we're even considering this to be dating and not just a vaguely sexual friendship."_

_"I'd like it to be considered dating," she murmurs, tracing a vein on his arm._

_He nods. "Yeah…I kinda would too."_

* * *

"Don't eat all the candy canes before we can get them on the tree!" Karmen's sharp reprimand startled Soundwave out of the waking stupor he'd fallen into. The twins at least had the sense—or the guilt—to crunch more quietly.

She sighed and ran a hand back through her hair, looking across the room at her brother. "Are you almost done with that?"

He nodded, hanging the last ornament over the door and stepping down off the chair he'd employed to do so. Height didn't run in their family.

"Would you mind helping us finish the tree? After this we just have to set up all the candles and the nativity and put the arrangement out on the front step and…" she trailed off with another sigh, and Soundwave could see her silently running through the rest of her mental checklist.

'_Take a break, sis._'

"No, I shouldn't…"

"It's okay, ma. Boss and us can take care of the tree and stuff."

"You're sure?"

Soundwave rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Apparently that was all she needed. She smiled wearily and dug her phone out of her back pocket. "I need to call work about something. I'll be out back if you need me, alright?"

'_We're fine._ _Relax a little._'

She mouthed a thank you, already holding the phone to her ear, heading for the back door.

"She missed you a lot, you know." Frenzy said around his mouthful of peppermint. "Wouldn't admit it, but she did."

"Yeah, you been busy a lot, Boss."

Soundwave shrugged. There wasn't anything he could do about it, and if he tried, he wouldn't live long enough to hear Megatron refuse. '_Enjoy your youth now._'

Normally, the twins would have waved him away with a dismissive 'yeah, yeah,' but this time, they were strangely solemn. "You mean it?"

He nodded. Granted, his circumstances were a little different, but he would have given just about anything to be a decade younger. Kids took youth for granted. Once it was gone, it was gone. Acting carefree and shameless at age thirty wasn't called youth anymore, it was called immaturity. He prayed that the two boys sitting in front of him were never forced to have to mature as fast as he and Karmen had been.

They shared a look, seeming to sense his train of thought. Rumble held out a candy cane. "You don't have to be an adult around us, Boss."

* * *

_"Come in, come in! We've heard so much about you! Welcome back, sweetheart…" They're both ushered into a warm, inviting, candlelit home, filled to the brim with what Soundwave can only call pure Christmas. Garland seems to be sprouting from every banister and piece of dark mahogany furniture, filling the house with the sharp scent of evergreen that all but masks the softer notes of peppermint and sugar cookies. He wanders further in, lured by the sound of music playing softly in another room. It's almost surreal, the way the candlelight flickers off the glittering ornaments and crystal-frosted berries. Like an illustration in a children's book._

_"Isn't it beautiful? They went all out this year when I told them I'd be bringing you back with me."_

_"They did this because of me?"_

_She nods, shrugging a little. "You're the first boyfriend I've had that I didn't have to convince them to like."_

_He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything._

_"You two didn't eat before you got here, did you?" her mother calls from the kitchen._

_"No," she answers for both of them. "We're starving."_

_"We can have dinner ready in forty-five minutes, but there's little things in the fridge if you can't wait."_

_She looks at Soundwave for confirmation and he shakes his head. "We're alright. We can find something to do until you're ready, unless you want some help?"_

_"No, no, it's your break. We can handle all this." There's a smile in her mother's voice._

_"Okay, then we'll be around."_

_"Keep it clean."_

_She rolls her eyes and Soundwave blushes. "Don't have to worry about that, Dad…"_

_There's nondescript grumbling from the kitchen and she grins. "I have some leftover sparklers from July. Want to go out and show the snow we're sick of it already?"_

* * *

_Half an hour later, they stumble back in, soaked with melted snow, smelling like titanium-laced smoke, and laughing._

_"You have snow in your hair." She reaches over to affectionately brush away the melting flakes._

_"You put it there," he grins back._

_Her mother is watching with a small smile. "Looks like you two had fun out there. It's nice to see young adults acting like little ones again."_

_She laughs breathlessly. "Don't get all mushy, mom, we were burning snow, not catching butterflies."_

_"I know, I know…" Her mother smiles, eyes still a little misty. "But you'll understand when you have children."_

* * *

"This looks amazing, you three! I'm impressed! And there are still some candy canes left…" Karmen walked around the tree, giving it a full inspection. "The only thing is…hm." She turned, looking down the hallway. "I know we have more ornaments around here…" She started off down the hall and disappeared into her room.

When she was out of earshot, the twins groaned and fell back onto the couch. "I thought we were finally done…"

"Yeah, I want guitar lessons!" Rumble didn't make any effort to keep his mother from hearing this. "And I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

"Well, so are you."

"I'm your twin."

"But that doesn't make us the same person."

"Dude, what if it did. Like, if you got sick, I would too."

"That happens anyway."

"Yeah, because you breathe on me."

"You're always up in my face."

"He's laughing at us."

Both the boys glanced at Soundwave, who was sitting on an overturned bin, trying to hide his silent amusement behind the back of his hand.

"I found another box…what's so funny?"

Soundwave shook his head, still laughing a little, and stood up to relieve his sister of the box she held, as it was almost as big as she was.

"We're natural-born comedians," Rumble supplied with a grin, bouncing up to unpack the box.

Karmen didn't look convinced and wandered back down the hallway to continue her search.

Frenzy shrugged and joined his brother. "I didn't know we had this many ornaments. Doesn't it seem like we always have more at the beginning than we do when we put them away?"

"Yeah, kinda." He reached deep into the tub, pulling out a flat, square box that he promptly opened. "Hey, Boss, are these some of yours?" He held up a record, handing it to Soundwave when he reached for it. "I thought you kept your collection at your house."

He nodded, confused, and gently riffled through the box. These were his. He hadn't seen them for years, and had almost thought he'd lost them for good.

"Crazy what you find when you drag stuff out of closets," Frenzy muttered, preoccupied with detangling metal hooks.

"You're talkin'," Rumble replied lightly. "At least I have a _system_."

"Your system is 'throw stuff everywhere and move it around when you have to clean,' Frenzy retorted, still not looking up. "I actually put things _away_."

"Oh… " Karmen's soft exclamation from the hall cut their feud short and made Soundwave glance over his shoulder. "I'd forgotten all about this…" She was standing on her toes, taking a small box down from the shelf in the hall closet. The box was plain, cardboard, and nondescript save for a single date scrawled on the side in permanent marker.

Immediately intrigued, both of the twins scampered over to see what she'd found. "What is it?"

Soundwave knew without having to go confirm. He'd forgotten about it, too, honestly. Or maybe he was trying not to remember.

"Boss, what is all this stuff?" Rumble questioned, gingerly lifting a tiny glass violin out on a golden thread.

He stood there, not responding, staring at the innocuous little ornament. Eventually, he sighed and answered, '_Memories_.' No elaboration was offered, and he quickly turned back around to keep decorating the tree.

* * *

_"Fine, I'll say it. It was amazing."_

_"I told you."_

_"I know, you wouldn't shut up about it."_

_"Well, now you know why."_

_Her mother listens to their conversation with a smile, packing up the rest of the homemade macaroni from dinner. "How does everyone feel about opening gifts?"_

_The agreement is wholehearted, and in the next five minutes, the family plus Soundwave is seated in a circle on the living room carpet. Ignoring the looks her father is giving her, she leans her head against his shoulder and wraps her blanket around both of them, a warm smile on her pink lips._

_He puts an arm around her shoulders and gives her a gentle kiss, if only to passively spite the glowering man across from them._

_The first round of gifts are distributed and opened in turn. He tries to swallow his discomfort as all eyes turn on him when she pushes a small, neatly wrapped box toward him and squeezes his hand under the blanket._

_"Try to be gentle," she all but whispers._

_He knows she's talking about the wrapping paper, but here, in the dim light, with her breath on his cheek and her hair on his neck and her hand in his own, he can't suppress the thrill that shoots down his spine. Freeing both hands, he works a finger under the tape, slowly releasing its hold on the paper underneath, until he can set aside the whole piece and expose the box itself._

_He doesn't try to school his expression as he opens the box. Nestled in a bed of soft cotton is a glass violin. The scrollwork and edging is done in fine lines of gold, like the thread that it's strung onto. Four thin silver wires run from the scroll to the tailpiece, and, upon lightly plucking at them, he's in awe to find that each is the correct pitch._

_She takes advantage of his stunned silence and leans over and kisses him behind his ear. "Don't forget me."_

* * *

"You okay, Boss? You been kinda…" Frenzy gestured nebulously. "…out of it."

"Yeah, you were, like, sleeping." Rumble barely glanced up from his tablet.

Soundwave nodded, rubbing his eyes and leaning forward with a sigh. '_Preparing for tomorrow morning_,' he joked with a half-smile.

"Hopefully some dinner will wake you up a little," Karmen added from the kitchen, accompanied by the clatter of pans.

"Boss…? What's the difference between a square bracket and a regular one? The command isn't translating." Rumble held up his tablet with a minor frown.

Soundwave stretched out on the floor next to his nephew, taking the tablet and glancing over Rumble's lines of code. Quickly finding the error, he fixed it while Rumble watched.

"Oh. Yeah, that's kinda what I thought, but I wasn't sure. Thanks."

Soundwave shrugged dismissively and rolled over onto his back. '_What are you working on?_'

"Just a little program for some math formulas," Rumble answered, almost sounding shy about it.

Soundwave was impressed. A few years ago, the boys would have been more interested in the game itself than the programming behind it, but apparently his influence affected them beyond their growing appreciation for any and all things musical.

The cheerful sound of the doorbell momentarily distracted the three of them.

"Soundwave?" Karmen's voice rose over the sound of the oven timer. "Would you please get that?"

Reluctantly, he dragged himself off of the floor and did as his sister asked, although his lack of a voice usually exempted him from having to go through any social interaction while she was in the vicinity.

"Hey there, you. Long time no see."

His eyes went wide behind his visor as he stared in shock at the visitor. Even the boys quieted when they saw who was standing outside. Coding was quickly forgotten.

"I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend," Rumble exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and joining Soundwave at the door with Frenzy close behind.

Blushing, Soundwave turned to his nephew and "corrected" him. '_She's not. College friend. That's all._' What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

From the kitchen, Karmen shouted, "Well, don't just leave her standing out in the snow, Soundwave! Let her inside!"

Turning back to the door in a daze, Soundwave took Vibes' bag, letting her in and waiting for her to pass him in the doorway, so surprised by her sudden appearance that he forgot all about the—

"MISTLETOE!" Rumble screeched, cackling madly.

Both adults glanced (well, Vibes glanced; Soundwave gave himself whiplash) above their heads at the seemingly innocuous sprig of green that had been up only hours previously.

"Kiss her!" the twins crowed together.

Soundwave glared down at the little imps, feeling the blood rising in his face as they grinned back expectantly. Even Karmen peeked around the corner of the kitchen wall, smiling—too smugly than she should have been, in Soundwave's opinion. "Oh, just do it. It's tradition."

Taking a deep breath, ignoring his embarrassing blush, and throwing himself headfirst out of his comfort zone, he leaned in and briefly pressed his mouth against Vibes', pulling back less than a second later.

Karmen cheered quietly and ducked back into the kitchen. Rumble and Frenzy, however, groaned disappointedly. "Aw, c'mon, Boss…that wasn't a kiss…"

'_That's all you're go—_' He was interrupted mid-sentence by one of Vibes' hands tangling its fingers in his hair, and her other hand on his cheek, turning him back in her direction.

His blush barely had time to rush back into his face before their lips met again. This time was…notably different. For one, it lasted longer. Much longer. Secondly, her tongue had somehow managed to get into his mouth. All the old instinct from college came rushing back, and, despite his best efforts, his hands settled on her hips. She chuckled quietly into his mouth and focused her attention on his bottom lip. After a few seconds, the warmth of her body against him and her breath mingling with his caused him to slowly relax almost forget about his family watching them.

It was a surprisingly familiar sensation; the gentle give and take of a deep, sincere kiss. He could smell her shampoo since a few locks of hair had escaped from her headband and were currently trying to get in on the action; catching in eyelashes and tickling cheeks. Her lips were as warm and soft as they'd always been and the feeling of her tongue gliding over and around his own caused a familiar tightening in the pit of his stomach. But he'd resisted that urge in college and he'd resist it now.

It seemed like hours before he pulled back, breathlessly realizing what had just happened. Once the contact between them had been broken, he came back to his senses. Immediately, his cheeks flared red and he broke eye contact with Vibes; for some reason, the floor seemed like an extremely appealing place. He swallowed self-consciously, suddenly very aware of the lack of noise from the kitchen and the twins.

"Whoa, Boss…" Frenzy's voice seemed uncharacteristically small and distant.

Rumble, however, was unaffected. "_That's _more like it!" He scampered up to Soundwave, peering at him with an expression that was all too knowing. "You _say_ she's not your girlfriend…" He pointed up at his uncle with a disturbingly accusatory finger, leaving the pseudo-threat hanging between them.

Before Soundwave could respond, Karmen called them both into the kitchen, saving him from any further humiliation. Besides, his hands were shaking so badly he had a feeling he wouldn't have been able to sign properly anyway.

"Your descriptions didn't do them justice," Vibes commented wryly.

Swallowing again, Soundwave looked back up at her and shakily signed, '_Coat?_'

She laughed quietly and shrugged it off, handing it to him. "You haven't changed a bit."

He wouldn't have known what to say. So he shut the door before any more snow blew into the house and unconsciously took her coat down the hall to his closet, realizing a second too late what he was doing, not that he could change his course without it being obvious. If his entire break was going to be this hellish limbo between wanting Vibes back and keeping their romantic history out of the spotlight…

"It's a nice little apartment…" Vibes remarked, drawing him out of his thoughts. He looked back down the hall to see her wandering further into the living room, examining the pictures on the mantelpiece. "Is this you when you were younger? Look how cute you were!"

"He still is!" Rumble chimed from the kitchen. A moment passed, then he corrected himself. "To girls, you know. And maybe that pirate dude from his work."

Vibes raised an eyebrow and looked back over at her shoulder at Soundwave, who had his hand over his face and was slowly shaking his head. "Why do I get the feeling that Christmas dinner with your family is going to be a lot more exciting than it ever was with mine?"

He only dragged his hand down his face and sulked into the kitchen, impaling Rumble with a glare. '_You. Me. Snowball fight. After dinner. To the death._'

Rumble grinned devilishly. "Bring it, Boss."

"What? What?" Frenzy's head snapped up and he snatched his fingers out of the dish he'd been molesting, licking them off, as if that would destroy the evidence.

"Snowball fight after dinner," his twin relayed proudly. "It's a death match."

"Mind if I join?"

The boys glanced at Vibes, then at Soundwave, who was still slightly pink. When their uncle made no move to answer, they eagerly took the bait. "Yeah! Sure! But you have to be on Soundwave's team. I don't think he wants to kill you. And if you two are the ones who end up dying, then at least you'll die together."

Soundwave had a feeling his face would never go back to its normal shade.

"No one's going to be dying out there…" Karmen chastised, carrying a dish over to the table.

"I dunno, ma…you haven't seen Soundwave throw a snowball…"

Karmen swiped a finger down her son's nose as she returned to the counter. "And you forget that he's my brother. We got into plenty of snowball fights, thank you very much."

Vibes leaned over Soundwave. "Is it always like this?"

He nodded wearily. '_Too much? I can tame them…_'

"No, no, it's fine. I love it."

He raised an eyebrow.

She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "You love it too. Don't deny it…"

'_They _are_ family…_' he conceded with a quiet sigh.

"Would you ever want your own kids?"

Damn that blush. Not wanting to further embarrass himself, he simply shook his head.

"But you're so good with them."

He shook his head again, more in avoidance than denial. He'd be lucky if he lived to see the new year…

"Alright everyone!" Karmen announced, thankfully diverting attention before the conversation could continue. "Wash up and sit down."

The twins practically pounced at the sink, scrubbing furiously, then raced each other to the table, ignoring Karmen's scolding. Soundwave pointed at the sink and raised an eyebrow at Vibes expectantly.

"No, you. I'm fine. No, seriously. No, Soundwave, go." She gave him a little push, turning and making a face at the twins when they snickered.

Soundwave huffed and turned on the water, turning back to flick some at Vibes, who reacted with mock-offense.

"You guys are totally flirting," Frenzy observed, feeling bolder in the presence of this visitor.

"Boys…" Karmen warned.

"What? They are!"

"And that's none of your business, now is it?"

"But…if he ends up getting married or something, then we won't be able to see him as often…"

Soundwave's eyebrows almost shot straight off his face. Vibes just laughed. "Who ever said anything about us getting married? We're…" she glanced at Soundwave. "…just friends."

Frenzy and Rumble shared a look. "A guy and a girl can't be _just friends._"

Her gaze slid to Soundwave who was, naturally, bright red again. "Have these kids been watching "When Harry Met Sally"?"

Soundwave pitifully shook his head. '_Acting older than they are.'_

"Hey! That's not cool, Boss…"

'_What? You're twelve!_'

"Yeah! That's almost thirteen!" Rumble placed his fists on his hips indignantly. Frenzy looked about ready to add his two cents, but Soundwave marched over and sat at the other end of the table, across from Karmen, staring them both into silence.

Vibes took her place a moment later, still cheerful. "Boys, I'm sure that if we did get married, you'd be the first to know and you'd still be able to see Soundwave. Hey, you might even end up with some cousins. Who knows?"

Soundwave just had a permanent blush by this point.

Strangely enough, her comment affected the twins similarly. They fidgeted for a few seconds, glancing between their mortified uncle (who now had buried his face in his hands) and his not-girlfriend (blinking amusedly at her not-boyfriend).

Again, Karmen's exhaustion saved them. "Let's just eat."

* * *

And they did. It stayed silent for maybe ten minutes (a record when the twins were involved) as everyone took the edge off of the hunger that had been building all day.

However, true to form, Rumble broke the somewhat tense peace. "So…how did you two meet?"

'_Chemistry class,_' Soundwave hastily signed before Vibes had a chance to mention their…less than orthodox dating procedures the night they'd met. Besides, it wasn't exactly a lie.

Thankfully, she just nodded and didn't bother to elaborate. "We ended up sitting next to each other one day…and that was that."

"Guess you could say you two had chemistry, huh?" Frenzy snickered, thinking himself clever until proven otherwise by a narrowed look from Soundwave. "Sorry…" he mumbled, poking at his food with his fork.

Rumble was undeterred. "But for the record, you guys do look really cute together. Cuter than you do with that pirate guy, Boss."

Soundwave grit his teeth and shook his head, giving his violet-haired nephew a warning glare.

"Mm." Vibes swallowed and looked at Soundwave out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah, what's all this about a pirate?"

'_Nothing_._ Co-worker. Came over for dinner once. Awkward situation. That's all._'

"I see…and the…pirate part of it?"

"He's got an eyepatch!" Rumble blurted excitedly. "But I still don't know if he actually has an eye under there. Boss got mad when we asked."

Vibes' eyebrows arched and she looked to her left. "You got mad? Wow."

'_Sensitive subject._' Not to mention an itchy trigger-finger.

"Ah." Vibes pushed her chair back and headed for the fridge to refill her glass.

"I'll get that," Karmen assured, starting to stand.

"Nope. You sit. You've been working hard all day. I can find my way around a foreign kitchen."

"Might not be foreign for long," Frenzy muttered.

Soundwave lightly slapped his palm on the table. '_That's enough. I am _not_ in a relationship with everyone that walks through the front door.'_

"Maybe not, but that guy didn't kiss you like she did…he didn't kiss you at all."

_Thank God._

"Yeah, what was all that about?" Rumble's curiosity overrode his earlier shame. "That was a serious kiss. I think. Right ma? When the tongues are doing more work than the lips, it's serious?"

"_Rumble!_" Karmen exclaimed.

"What?!" Frenzy immediately sprang to his brother's defense. "It wasn't exactly hard to notice…"

Vibes sat back down, trying not to laugh. At what, she wasn't sure; the twins' commentary or the look on Soundwave's face. Maybe both. "You two just won't drop it, will you? You want the truth? Okay. Here goes." She took a sip of her drink and placed the glass down on the table carefully. "Soundwave and I dated in college, for two years—"

"I knew it!"

"—but when we graduated, we agreed that we would each go our own separate ways , parting as friends, which we did. It was hard. I loved him. Still do. Always have. Yeah, go ahead and make all the faces you want—you'll understand someday. I wanted to know how he was doing, so I came by. And unless he explicitly says no, I would say it's safe to consider us a couple. Does that answer all your questions?"

The twins thought for a moment, looking back and forth between Vibes and their uncle (who had relinquished control of his jaw to gravity) and eventually reached a consensus.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess."

"Besides, you're cool enough to have our permission to marry him or whatever, if you ever do," Frenzy added, almost as an afterthought.

"I'm glad I passed the coolness test. Good to know your family has set standards for you, Wave."

Soundwave, eternally mortified, managed to close his mouth and shook his head for what had to be the tenth time that night.

"So, why don't you want to keep going out with her, Boss?"

"Yeah, why? Unless…" Rumble glanced away from his uncle, then back. "Unless you really are gay for the—"

'_I'm. Not._' Soundwave's expression was almost manic, and the tint of the visor giving his dark eyes a reddish glaze didn't help. He was past the point of embarrassment and needed to set the record straight. '_She just said we dated in college. If she's not a man, I'm not gay._' Then he added as an afterthought, '_With anyone._'

Silence reigned for a moment until Karmen, who had been mostly quiet, finally spoke up. "Is everybody done eating?" It came out sounding more like a sigh than anything else, and when no one answered with either a yes or a no, she stood and started clearing plates away.

Rumble glanced around. "Soooo….does this mean snowball fight?"

Soundwave pushed his chair back and stood, nodding firmly, relieved to have some excuse to pelt his nephews with frozen projectiles. Rumble whooped and raced for the back door, but abruptly came to a halt, exhaling with an 'oof' when Soundwave caught him with one hand and turned him around. Sternly, the man raised a cobalt eyebrow and pointed at the living room. '_Coat. You too, Frenzy._'

Together, the twins sulked to their room.

Soundwave took a few deep breaths and briefly removed his visor to rub his eyes, then wildly attacked his hair for a moment, not caring that it was a mess of tufts sticking up in unplanned angles by the time he let his hands drop back down to his sides.

Vibes chuckled and shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, absently scuffing her boot across the tiled kitchen floor. "Quite the pair, those two."

'_You have no idea._' He sighed and meandered over to help Karmen with the dishes, leaving Vibes to look out the back door.

Frenzy and Rumble skidded back in a moment later, marshmallowed up in thick coats and boots that had been hastily laced. "C'mon! Let's go!"

"Cool it," Vibes laughed. "Let me go get my coat. They're almost done with the dishes."

Soundwave heard her leave the kitchen and open the hall closet. He let out a small sigh.

First checking to see that the boys were distracted and wouldn't listen in, Karmen leaned toward him. "You alright?"

Tiredly, he nodded, mouthing, "I'll talk to you later." Once the twins were asleep. Once they could sit down with coffee and have a perfectly civil, adult conversation.

Vibes returned, similarly bundled. As she readjusted her scarf, she took in a deep breath. "This coat smells a little like you now, Soundwave."

He bit down on his tongue as hard as he allowed himself to keep the blush from creeping back.

"Is that a good thing?" Of course. Suddenly Rumble was paying attention.

Vibes shrugged. "It's just…familiar. Comforting."

Soundwave exhaled shakily and placed the last clean dish into the drying rack, glad she hadn't said anything too provocative. But, being who they were, the twins exchanged a knowing (a much _too_ knowing) look, though they did their best to hide it from their uncle.

He saw it anyway.

"Can we go _now_, Boss?" Frenzy whined, attempting to be as nonchalant as he could.

'_I still need my combat gear_,' Soundwave half-joked, jogging back to the closet and retrieving his coat and boots. As much as he was loathe to admit it, Vibes' particular scent had permeated into his coat as much as his had into hers. It hadn't changed that much since college. It was still that same maddeningly erotic mixture of blackberries and vanilla that had almost made him relinquish his long-held chastity to her, on numerous occasions. Sighing, he shrugged on the coat, trying not to breathe. From the kitchen, he could hear the briefing begin, courtesy of the twins.

"We usually build forts."

"If you get hit, you have to stay out for a minute."

"Yeah, yeah, and if you're still out and your other team members get hit and you're all out at the same time, you lose."

"But you should be safe since Boss is a _beast_ when it comes to snowball fights."

"He's a beast when it comes to _anything_."

"Well, yeah. Remember that time when we made him play that one song on his guitar blindfolded?"

"Yeah! The really fast one? I don't remember what it was called."

"Me either, but it was awesome."

"Yeah. Vibes, you are with a seriously cool guy, so you'd better take really good care of him."

"You two are possessive."

"He's the closest thing to a dad we have." Rumble's voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

Deciding to keep things from getting too sensitive, Soundwave stepped back into the kitchen, purposely stomping a little to draw their attention.

"Finally ready? The boys were giving me the basics."

'_I heard_.'

"So can we go?" Frenzy bounced on his toes.

Soundwave nodded and the boys shot out into the waning sunlight, collapsing into a snowdrift. He smiled and gave Vibes a little shove toward the door. '_Go. I'll be right out._'

Once she was outside, he walked over to his sister, still standing by the sink with dishtowel in hand, and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. '_Come with?_'

"No. I'll stay in here."

He raised an eyebrow.

"The boys don't get to see you often and they don't need me ruining their fun."

Soundwave frowned. '_They love you. Show it a little differently, but they love you._'

A small, tired smile appeared on Karmen's lips. "I know."

'_We'll talk after they're asleep, okay_?'

She nodded, leaning into her brother's chest. He gave her a hug and held her for a moment, until she pulled away with a sigh. "I know I said this yesterday, but I don't know what I'd do without you."

He took a step back toward the door and held up the sign for 'I love you.'

Karmen puffed out a little laugh and shook her head. "I love you too, doofus. If you can keep those boys occupied for a few hours, I might just have coffee ready when you come back in."

Soundwave grinned and gave her a thumbs up before joining Vibes and his nephews outside. Said nephews had already scraped together a meager fort—a low wall of snow that was just barely tall enough to shield their skinny, twelve-year-old frames if they were lying flat on their stomachs—and were amassing piles of ammunition on either side.

'Hurry up, Boss!" Frenzy yelled, tossing a snowball in his direction. "You're dead meat if you don't have any cover!"

He jogged over to the other side of the yard after leaving his visor on the patio table. Vibes was packing her own pile of snowballs next to a flimsy sapling, and smiled when she saw him approach. "I'm counting on you, baby blue," she grinned.

'_You can take care of yourself,_' he replied, doing his best to let the old pet name go in one ear and out the other before he could allow himself to think about how good it felt to be called that again.

* * *

"Boys, when you're done with that, you need to get ready for bed."

"Yes, ma…" was the general mumble as they slowly sipped their hot cocoa. They were thankfully very subdued and more than ready to fall into bed after their humiliating defeat at the hands (and deadly accurate marksmanship) of their uncle and Vibes, who happened to pose more of a challenge than they expected.

Soundwave's gaze flitted back and forth between Vibes, who was strangely silent, nursing her coffee, and the twins. Swallowing to clear his throat, he gently touched her arm to get her attention.

She looked up, smiling, and whatever distance had clouded her expression immediately vanished. "Yeah, babe?"

He bit his tongue. '_When did you learn sign language?_'

She sighed, some of the bittersweet returning to her copper eyes. "As soon as I heard about the accident."

A hush fell over the kitchen. He turned to Karmen, who nodded. "I had to tell her, Soundwave."

He stared at her for a moment. '_Was this your idea?_'

"It was both of us," Vibes admitted, going back to staring into the depths of her coffee mug. "I know what we agreed, Blue. But it's not healthy to cut yourself off from…everything."

Even if he'd still been able to talk, he would have been speechless. How long had they been planning this? And how much did Karmen know? '_I'm not even the same guy anymore, Vibes._'

"I'll decide that for myself, thanks." Her tone was disturbingly serious.

An uncomfortable spell of silence followed, broken only by the scraping of chairs as the twins quietly left the kitchen, at least having the sense to know when things got personal. Soundwave just sat there, eyes shut, kneading at his temples slowly.

"I'm not trying to force anything to happen." Her voice was softer now. "I just missed you and didn't want you to be alone."

He shook his head. He wasn't alone. Not physically, anyway. Karmen and the twins were enough of a lifeline; enough to tether him to the last remaining shred of his humanity. But emotionally? Mentally? He was more alone than any of them knew and would ever know. And no amount of conversation of snowball fights or _love_ could change that.

* * *

The lights had been out for forty-five minutes, yet Soundwave couldn't force himself to shut down. Maybe it was Vibes lying a few yards away on the floor. He could hear her breathing and was a little disconcerted about how familiar the sound was. After years of being away from her, he could still recognize the cadence of her breathing and remember the way her heartbeat sounded as he fell asleep with his head against her chest. It was still surreal. The woman he hadn't really expected to see again (or maybe he had?) was in his city again. Their city. They hadn't had the time to really catch up, what with the nosy twins around, so there was still an air of…slight disconnect hanging around them. Unresolved issues.

He heard her fidget and turn over and, for a split second, thought about inviting her up onto the couch with him. A multitude of reasons stopped him from doing so. She couldn't see signing in the dark. The twins would find them first and definitely misinterpret. He didn't want to get too close to her again. Not now. He couldn't. It wasn't just stupid, it was dangerous. What was a meaningful relationship to him was a liability to Megatron. A potential leak. A weak spot in the wall around his iron-fisted rule over Detroit. Not that anyone outside the business knew that. They didn't know that the rejections and cutting of ties was done for their own safety, out of love. They could never know. It was such twisted, yet perfect, logic and Soundwave hated it. To tell her why he was keeping her safe was to expose her to the barrel of the D-Con gun.

He hated himself for being so desperate. Wanting so badly to be a part of the living again. Taking any opportunity he could, without doing what he should have done. What he _knew_ he was smart enough to have done. But on the other hand, he wouldn't have likely found anything incriminating. Megatron was a successful entrepreneur, and that's all the world needed to know.

"Sounder?"

Her whisper sounded like a gunshot in the quiet of the room, silencing all the voices in his thoughts.

"You awake?"

He nodded, then realized she couldn't see him in the dark. Shuffling around under his pillow, he pulled out his phone and turned on the screen, illuminating both of them in the feeble electronic glow.

"It's cold down here."

Dammit.

"…I know it's probably weird after so long, but…could I come up there? Is it big enough?"

The poor lighting kept him from mentioning how they both managed to fit onto a twin dorm bed in college, so yes, this was plenty big enough. Instead—against all his better judgment and restraint—he nodded, moving over to make room for her next to the wall.

"We don't have to cuddle or anything." She started, gathering up her pillow and blankets and tossing them over him. "Unless, you know, you want to."

_More than you know_. Thank God the dark hid the blush.

"I'm sorry if this is strange for you." He held his breath as she climbed over him to get to the other side. "Not...this. But just being here in the first place. I know you weren't expecting anything like this and—what?"

'_You don't care._'

"What do you mean?"

He motioned to his throat.

She pursed her lips, quiet. "They're not as bad as you think. So, no, I don't."

He shook his head.

"I wouldn't care if you were still torn up and bleeding. Listen to me. No, listen." She knelt over him—no, _straddled _him (igniting a confusing mixture of conflicting feelings)—and took his face in her hands. They were cold, but gentle. "I love you. Don't forget that. Don't you ever _fucking_ forget that."

He hadn't.

* * *

**A/N: **Just a reminder, Vibes is not an OC. She's actually canon, but only showed up in one panel of one comic, so…I basically get to shape her however I want to. Fun fun. Her name made her the perfect candidate to be Soundwave's lover. For those of you saying, "But…isn't she an Autobot…?" Yes, my dears, yes she is…I am fully aware of this and plan to use it to its full potential. Muah ha ha.

And for any of you coming into this without prior knowledge of **Demyrie's Odd Moments **universe, go check it out! Chapter 34 is Soundwave's chapter (as are 29 and 46), and explains what happened to him to cause him to lose his voice. Now go! Seriously, why are you still here? Go read that amazing story! Shoo!


End file.
